Listed here are the hummingbirds profiled on this site. Hummingbirds are American birds in the family Trochilidae. The rapidly beatings wings of these small birds not only produce a humming noise that gives them their common name, they also allow them to hover and even fly backwards as they dart from flower to flower. Hummingbirds feed mainly on flower nectar, and they can be attracted to your yard by the planting of hummingbird flowers and by special hummingbird feeders that contain a mixture of 1 part sugar to 4 parts water.